Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Pres Aquino: Go Easy on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
If there is one thing constant in P-Noy’s SONA about injecting plausible provisions on attaining development both in the AFP and sectors including education and infra-projects, it would no less be than the use of Public-Private Partnerships or PPPs. The idea is not a mere “reintegration” or promotion of said strategy; else it sounded more like a policy statement. Most of P-Noy’s proposals are anchored on such terms but forgetting one bureaucratic malpractice that go hand-in-hand in this system’s implementation - graft and soaring price schemes.
With the Naval bases on lease, one could not help but think of the backlash on former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos’ 1995 envisioned AFP modernization plan that involved selling-out portions of Camp Andres Bonifacio to private entities that include Ayala Land, Inc and Evergreen Holdings that later developed the consortium with the Bonifacio Land Development Corporation (BCDA). The plan was to raise funds for the AFP’s modernization projects, which unfortunately, up until now remains elusive.
Else, take for instance the NBN-ZTE deal that only spun one catastrophic graft issue to the next. Other than fiscal resolve, what we got was tax payers’ money divested to either suffice hungry statesmen or pay-up for private companies’ former debts. Have we not gone through with this in the Maynilad-MWSS conglomeration? Not only are we prompting a price hike on commodities or public services that included transport but we are also making public funds vulnerable to capitalists and to the so-called TRAPOs’ deceit.
There is nothing wrong with PPPs, not unless it goes through keen eyes and responsible hands. There is no reason to doubt P-Noy’s sincerity but there is however a need to stay vigilant on state affairs with reference to what the past has already shown us.
With the Naval bases on lease, one could not help but think of the backlash on former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos’ 1995 envisioned AFP modernization plan that involved selling-out portions of Camp Andres Bonifacio to private entities that include Ayala Land, Inc and Evergreen Holdings that later developed the consortium with the Bonifacio Land Development Corporation (BCDA). The plan was to raise funds for the AFP’s modernization projects, which unfortunately, up until now remains elusive.
Else, take for instance the NBN-ZTE deal that only spun one catastrophic graft issue to the next. Other than fiscal resolve, what we got was tax payers’ money divested to either suffice hungry statesmen or pay-up for private companies’ former debts. Have we not gone through with this in the Maynilad-MWSS conglomeration? Not only are we prompting a price hike on commodities or public services that included transport but we are also making public funds vulnerable to capitalists and to the so-called TRAPOs’ deceit.
There is nothing wrong with PPPs, not unless it goes through keen eyes and responsible hands. There is no reason to doubt P-Noy’s sincerity but there is however a need to stay vigilant on state affairs with reference to what the past has already shown us.
SONA: Missing Links
The singling out of the supposed malpractices in the MWSS to include the passage of both the whistleblower protection bill and the creation of a truth commission, among other things, in P-Noy’s SONA should incur more than just “shock and awe”. Even though these initiatives are politically relevant with the state buckling-up for reform and transparency, it should not be made a good excuse to turn blind-slide issues that only require immediate attention but of sufficient budgetary allocations as well. Take for example the intertwining state dilemma on land reform, labor unrest, and turtle-paced justice system which this administration happened to overlook during P-Noy’s litany of exposé and developmental programs within his four-year term.
This concern capsulated in the controversial unrest in Hacienda Luisita that unfortunately tags P-Noy along with the so-called Conjuangco’s Inc should have at least been given a sentence or two in the president’s 38-minute speech. Majority may give the Hacienda murderers a rest since it may just lead to snowballing political gimmicks and propaganda but it is not entirely fair to sidetrack the debate over the implementation of factual social justice. For instance, militant groups continue to push for the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill despite the former administration’s effort of implementing RA 9700 or CARP Extension with Reforms Law (CARPER Law).
And just for a thought, casting aside the Hacienda Luisita murders simply because it may induce a biased perspective while we allow the public to speculate on the Maguindanao murders with its political landlords depicted as living demons even before the court’s ruling is more than just being plainly iniquitous but nevertheless hypocritical. If it is total reform that we aim to hit, then we better not practice surgical or selective changes.
On the other hand, why not dig deeper than the MWSS management’s supposed bloated benefits? The privatization of the said company in 1995 down to its partnership with Maynilad, a Lopez-owned corporation that should have downsized the government’s concern on their projected water crisis in the 90s but nonetheless ended with the government shouldering Maynilad’s debts and soaring water bills, should also be dissected. Since both companies’ spending raises eyebrows, it would be a necessity to look beyond the fat bonuses. What P-Noy has for MWSS in his SONA is just the tip of the iceberg and his administration has to swim deeper.
P-Noy has to piece his administration’s puzzle one at a time, a steady initiative and an all-sweeping government agenda on issues, as vital as addressing graft, has to be a part of it. We are in tune with P-Noy but also ask that these measures be collective.
This concern capsulated in the controversial unrest in Hacienda Luisita that unfortunately tags P-Noy along with the so-called Conjuangco’s Inc should have at least been given a sentence or two in the president’s 38-minute speech. Majority may give the Hacienda murderers a rest since it may just lead to snowballing political gimmicks and propaganda but it is not entirely fair to sidetrack the debate over the implementation of factual social justice. For instance, militant groups continue to push for the Genuine Agrarian Reform Bill despite the former administration’s effort of implementing RA 9700 or CARP Extension with Reforms Law (CARPER Law).
And just for a thought, casting aside the Hacienda Luisita murders simply because it may induce a biased perspective while we allow the public to speculate on the Maguindanao murders with its political landlords depicted as living demons even before the court’s ruling is more than just being plainly iniquitous but nevertheless hypocritical. If it is total reform that we aim to hit, then we better not practice surgical or selective changes.
On the other hand, why not dig deeper than the MWSS management’s supposed bloated benefits? The privatization of the said company in 1995 down to its partnership with Maynilad, a Lopez-owned corporation that should have downsized the government’s concern on their projected water crisis in the 90s but nonetheless ended with the government shouldering Maynilad’s debts and soaring water bills, should also be dissected. Since both companies’ spending raises eyebrows, it would be a necessity to look beyond the fat bonuses. What P-Noy has for MWSS in his SONA is just the tip of the iceberg and his administration has to swim deeper.
P-Noy has to piece his administration’s puzzle one at a time, a steady initiative and an all-sweeping government agenda on issues, as vital as addressing graft, has to be a part of it. We are in tune with P-Noy but also ask that these measures be collective.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Whistleblower Bill (WbB) : Agreeable?
Making the passage of the Whistleblower Bill a priority for this administration in its move to counter graft and corruption and truthful-governance is not a matter to be overlooked. In recollection of the two most controversial impeachment proceedings in state history- the Estrada and Arroyo entanglements with both graft and misuse of political will have not failed protecting the rights and safety of the people behind the neck-turning exposés. They were a given a nice clean sheet of identity where their involvement in the case was practically deduced into mere “innocent” towards “conscientious” participation. Thereby giving the public no other choice but take them in as “renewed” sons of social justice. That is, to an extent that they were implicitly given a better hook on public interest and even media mileage.
Take the case of former Ilocos Governor Chavit Singson who happened to be enjoying one appointment to the next. The man who blew the lid off of former Pres. Erap over the latter’s hollowed out money laundering schemes and gambling impulses has made a better career out of his so-called sacrifices during the Estrada impeachment proceedings. Singson was vital to the ouster of Erap that he was given the comforts of one appointment to the next that included his being appointed as the Deputy to the National Security Adviser. Else, the NBN-ZTE witnesses- Joey “Joe” De Venecia had him running for the 2010 senatorial bid thinking that his participation in the said controversy already provided him of a better political benchmark.
The point is the passage of WbB though beneficial in the plan to lure prospective whistleblowers, which at one point exasperate graft practices towards its extinction may also be exploited to give a better “fight plan” for mere political adventurism and power play. We do not question the credibility of these “whistleblowers” but we however should stay vigilant as to what drove them to spill the beans. More or less, this would just be a tool to mount political profit else a justifiable alibi for one criminal to exonerate himself either from our envisioned Truth Commission or the tribunals.
Take the case of former Ilocos Governor Chavit Singson who happened to be enjoying one appointment to the next. The man who blew the lid off of former Pres. Erap over the latter’s hollowed out money laundering schemes and gambling impulses has made a better career out of his so-called sacrifices during the Estrada impeachment proceedings. Singson was vital to the ouster of Erap that he was given the comforts of one appointment to the next that included his being appointed as the Deputy to the National Security Adviser. Else, the NBN-ZTE witnesses- Joey “Joe” De Venecia had him running for the 2010 senatorial bid thinking that his participation in the said controversy already provided him of a better political benchmark.
The point is the passage of WbB though beneficial in the plan to lure prospective whistleblowers, which at one point exasperate graft practices towards its extinction may also be exploited to give a better “fight plan” for mere political adventurism and power play. We do not question the credibility of these “whistleblowers” but we however should stay vigilant as to what drove them to spill the beans. More or less, this would just be a tool to mount political profit else a justifiable alibi for one criminal to exonerate himself either from our envisioned Truth Commission or the tribunals.
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